Tomorrow starts Tonight
by dixiedreaming
Summary: Scarlett visits Rhett's room the night after he tells her he's leaving, but will her wish for one last look only cause her more pain or could it trigger a new beginning for them both?
1. Chapter 1

_A quick(ish) two-shot which popped into my head and caught my imagination (which has been pretty sluggish these last few weeks!), the second half is already started and will be up before the end of the week. I've been having major writer's block on When Love was Young recently, but I think this has helped to clear it and chapter four should be up very soon. Sorry for keeping you all waiting, but hopefully this will provide a distraction. Please review, I love hearing all your thoughts. _

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Scarlett stood silently in the doorway to Rhett's bedroom, her mind clouded by alcohol and her heart heavy with grief, trying to recall how it was that she had come to be there.

She remembered wearily climbing the stairs after one too many glasses of brandy in the dining room. She remembered turning right as usual towards her own sleeping quarters, eager to curl up under the thick covers and replace the dull ache of reality with sweeter dreams of her own making. She even remembered pushing open the door to her room and feeling the weight of its black emptiness pressing down upon her until her knees almost gave out under the pressure.

But from that moment on her memories became vague and blurry, almost as if she had lost control over herself and had been directed by a force far greater than her own will. A force which had pulled her silently and determinedly to her husband's side.

Husband.

The word stung her soul and made her recoil as if she had been dealt a physical blow. Some husband he had turned out to be, one who had hidden his love from her all these years under a veil of insults and criticisms only to run from her the moment she realised her true feelings.

She allowed a wave of anger and resentment to engulf her for a moment, revelling in the sensation as it washed away other, more melancholy feelings. Feelings like her guilt at the way she had treated Melly all these years and the intense anguish she felt now that she had lost her closest friend forever without the chance to make it up to her. Yes, it was very satisfying indeed to blame Rhett for everything that had gone wrong with their marriage, for the way his behaviour had made it impossible for her to guess at his love and for all of the chances at happiness they had lost as a direct result of his cowardice. It covered over her own faults and made her feel strong and in control again, sentiments she so craved after the events of the day had left her feeling utterly helpless and defeated.

Scarlett sighed and reluctantly allowed her sudden anger to drain away leaving her weak and exhausted once more. Thinking that way may be satisfying, but it would not do her any good in the long run. Blaming Rhett for the Hell that their marriage had descended into would not help reignite the spark between them, but only serve to throw more ashes onto the dying embers until they faded away completely. For though a large part of her hated him for lying to her all of these years, a far greater part was willing to forgive him all that and much more besides if only he would open up his heart to her once more.

For she still loved him despite his decade-long deceit, in fact her vanity soared at the knowledge that he had loved her secretly for all those years, his confession making her revaluate their entire relationship and see it in a new and highly romantic light. Why she didn't know of any woman who had ever been loved the way that Rhett had loved her! And she understood too why he had felt the need to conceal his affection from her, after all she had frequently fantasied about making him fall in love with her only to use his emotions against him and bend him to her will. She herself would never have confessed her love this day if it had not been for the push that Melanie had given her mere hours before, her friend's calm, confident words enabling Scarlett to overcome her doubts and reservations and be driven by her emotions rather than her pride for the very first time.

Thinking of her hasty outpouring of love now though she blushed with shame remembering how Rhett had rejected her, how he had been so cold and detached when she had been so passionate and desperate. She must have looked a fool, the very thing that she could not stand to be and in front of the one person whose opinion she truly cared for as well. It was almost too much to bear and in that instant Scarlett came to her senses and pulled away from the doorway, terrified that Rhett would wake up and see her watching over him like some pathetic, love-struck child.

She pulled her wrapper firmly round her middle and went to turn away back towards her own room when the thought that this might be the very last time she ever saw him crossed her mind and froze her to the spot. Pain ripped violently through her chest at the idea of having to live her life without the near-constant presence of his strong tanned physique, jet black hair and bottomless, unfathomable, infuriating onyx eyes. He had been such a crucial part of her world for so long that she could not now envision how it would look without him. He would leave such a gaping hole in her life if he was to leave, a hole that she had no idea how she would ever go about filling.

Clinging desperately to the short time she had left, Scarlett raked her hungry eyes across his sleeping form taking in the sight of him sprawled out across his bed and engraining it into her memory like an animal stocking up on food before winter. She noticed how he was still clad in his trousers and shirt, almost as if sleep had crept up on him unawares whilst he had been busy packing and left him no time to undress before he succumbed to oblivion. He looked as tired as she felt, his aging face pale under its tan and carved through with lines embedded there by years of bitterness and grief.

The sight saddened Scarlett immeasurably, she could not quite believe that this was the same man who had once seemed so intensely alive to her, impervious to the wear and tear that affected the respectable citizens of the town as if his life of adventure and disrepute shielded him from the ravages of time and kept him forever young. Looking now at his diminished, world-weary form though Scarlett realised that he had given up his life of adventure in order to try and win her and the pursuit had cost him the best part of his looks, his youth and his happiness.

Unable to stand the sight of his ravaged face any longer Scarlett tuned instead to his shirt, the first three buttons of which were undone exposing the tanned expanse of his throat and the first sprigs of coarse black hair which Scarlett knew thickened into a dense mat further down his chest. The sight awakened something primal within her, something which made her forget her previously dark thoughts and take comfort in the fact that while so much about Rhett may have changed over the years, the effect he had over her body was the same as it had always been.

Rhett snored slightly, blissfully unaware of Scarlett's burning gaze as her eyes roamed hungrily over his form. She watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, mesmerised by the way it made the candlelight dance across his tanned skin. The newfound flames of her desire were swiftly dampened however by the realisation that Rhett no longer wanted her as she now wanted him.

She sighed as she thought about all the happiness she could have had with him if only she had taken the time to discover his love. She now knew how much he must have suffered, how he must have yearned for her all these years, adoring her from afar while she remained totally unaffected by his presence, as completely indifferent to his love as he now was to hers. Leaning her head back wearily on the doorframe Scarlett realised that she had slept through their entire marriage only to wake when Rhett had finally closed up his eyes and heart to her.

Tearing her gaze away from him she scanned the rest of the room, a room that she now realised she had never really looked at before despite sleeping next to it for years. She laughed bitterly at the thought that like Rhett she had ignored it for the entire length of their marriage only to notice its presence far too late in the day. Her heart clenched as she took in the bare walls and surfaces and realised that once Rhett awoke it would only take him a few short minutes until he was ready to leave. His suitcase stood in the corner containing only the essentials he would need for his initial journey and stay in Charleston.

Yet while the thought that he wasn't taking that much with him at first gave her hope that he would not be staying away for long, the fact that the rest of the room had been dismantled and packed away into boxes swiftly extinguished this hope. The sight of the boxes told her that while he might one day come back in order to honour his earlier promise of keeping the gossip down, this would never again be his true home. Looking at them she felt that it was not only the contents of the room that they contained, but also her and Rhett's entire life together. It was as if he had packed up their love along with his belongings, to be sealed up and stored away in some dark corner hidden from the light until one day no one would remember it had ever existed.

Except her. Because she knew in that moment that while Rhett might be able to forget their old life and forge a new one without her, she would never be able to do the same. Not after Melly had made her look at herself, truly look at herself for the first time in years, or perhaps even her entire life and see not the fragile and beautiful Southern Belle had she had always envisioned herself to be, but a woman who had endured, who had struggled and fought ruthlessly for survival against a seemingly unstoppable tide, and who had sacrificed her innocence and her morals in order to stay afloat.

A woman who did not need a dashing, young blond-haired knight to rescue her, nor who wanted to rescue her now world-weary, defeated and greying childhood friend, but a woman who was born to fight alongside a man every bit as hardy, passionate and rebellious as herself. A man who she now realised had been standing alongside her for her entire adult life, ready and willing to take up this position if only she would have let him.

Scarlett knew if she was to stand any chance of regaining his affections she would have to fight incredibly hard, harder perhaps than she had ever fought for anything in her life before except for Tara. But she was surprised to find that she did not mind the idea, in fact she rather relished the thought of having something to aim for once more, a goal to make life worthwhile again after years of grief and misery. She felt her fighting spirit, dormant for so long, rise up once more in her chest at the thought of the huge challenge that lay in front of her. A challenge that, if successful, would provide her with the greatest reward yet; Rhett's love.

But not tonight. Tonight she was cold and exhausted and she longed for sleep. Tomorrow she'd be different, she'd be stronger and ready to begin her campaign. After all tomorrow was another day, unblemished by death and talk of divorce, tomorrow was hers for the taking.

Scarlett yawned deeply and told herself that it was time she returned to her own bed, for if she was going to get up early enough to talk to Rhett before he left then she needed to go to sleep as soon as possible. But though reason told her to leave, her body refused to move so much as an inch away from her sleeping husband. Old and weary though Rhett may undoubtedly have looked, Scarlett still drew comfort from being near him, a thing she now realised she'd been unconsciously doing for the last twelve years. Illuminated by the solitary candle on his bedside table, Rhett seemed to Scarlett to be the sole point of light and warmth in her otherwise barren world. Her head battled fiercely with her heart as she deliberated between sleeping in her own bed as Rhett would surely want her to do and the knowledge that she would only ever find peace tonight if she lay by his side.

For perhaps the first time ever her heart won the internal struggle and she found herself creeping silently across the floor of his room as if pulled there by an invisible current. Carefully she negotiated the various boxes and piles of clothes that littered the carpet until she reached the side of the bed.

Looking into Rhett's face, Scarlett shivered as she remembered a time years ago in Frank's store when he had told her that the day she let her emotions win out over her practical mind would be the day that he left Atlanta forever. Overcome by a sense of foreboding Scarlett almost abandoned her plan and ran out of the room before the thought that he was leaving anyway crossed her mind and steadied her resolve. If this was to be there last night together then she knew where it was she wanted to spend it and she wasn't going to let some silly memory cause her to do otherwise.

Inching her wrapper off until it hit the floor with a muted thud, Scarlett gently sat down on the bed, careful not to wake Rhett from his slumber. Slowly she eased herself down onto the mattress, taking advantage of her husband's out-flung arm to tuck her head up under his shoulder. She'd meant only to lie quietly beside him, yet when her exposed calf accidentally brushed up against his trouser-clad one, the heat that radiated from him to her proved too much to resist and she eagerly curled her body around the side of his, moulding herself against his reassuringly strong frame.

All the while her emerald eyes did not stray from his face, studying his outline cautiously she braced herself against the smallest sign of his awakening. Once she had thought him panther-like in the way that his supposed languor concealed a ferocious power and never had this characteristic struck her more potently than at this moment. Lying beside him she could not help but feel like she had wandered willingly and foolishly into the beast's lair and in doing so had put herself entirely at his mercy. For she knew that in being here she was exposing her love for him openly, leaving her vulnerable to his contempt and insults which, while unable to physically harm her, would rip out her heart just the same as if he had clawed it from her chest.

His eyes remained closed however and his breathing slow and regular and gradually Scarlett felt herself relax into his unintended embrace, his warmth seemed to seep into her skin, thawing her rigid state and melting the ice around her heart until she felt it beating loudly and painfully once again. Overcome by a wave of love and desire that swept away all the remaining fragments of her judgement, she longed to get closer to him still and treacherously her hand snaked its way up from her side towards Rhett's face fuelled by a desire to smooth out the worry line that was etched between her husband's thick brows.

Inches away from its intended target though, her hand froze as she remembered with a pang that while her love might be fresh and overpowering, Rhett's had grown stale and withered with time and that her touch would not only be unreciprocated but unwanted.

Her hand was about to make a hasty retreat when the clock in the downstairs hallway struck the hour, its ghostly, metallic chimes reverberating throughout the silent house. Scarlett's heart seized up at the sound and she began fearfully counting the chimes, feeling as if each one was a death knell for her and Rhett's relationship.

Sure enough when the clock emitted its twelfth and final gong her heart seized up in the knowledge that her time was finally up, that today had ended and tomorrow had caught up with her at last leaving her without a place to hide.

Upon hearing the sound of the clock, Rhett's eyelids began to flutter open and without pausing to think Scarlett did the only thing that she could to prolong their moment together, the only thing that seemed to make sense to her confused and terrified mind, the only thing that she had wanted to do since leaving Melly's that afternoon; she kissed him.


	2. Chapter 2

As she touched her lips to Rhett's, Scarlett realised that she couldn't even remember the last time that she had initiated a kiss between them, in fact she wasn't entirely sure if she ever had. A lump formed in her throat at the thought, but she was glad that while she had missed so very many opportunities to do so in the past, at least she had taken this one, perhaps the last that she would ever get.

While part of her longed to go slowly, to savour the feel of Rhett's skin under her own, deep down she knew that there was no time for such luxuries. As such the kiss was not the gentle and lover-like one that she wished she could finally bestow upon him, nor was it one of unbridled passion and lust. Instead it was the desperate and hard kiss of someone who risks it all whilst knowing deep down that they have already lost.

Instantly Rhett tensed beneath her, his entire body going rigid as his eyes flew open to reveal a look of utter shock and confusion. Terrified that his expression would soon turn to one of anger, Scarlett quickly broke the kiss and took Rhett's aging face between her two small hands before he had a chance to gather his wits and push her roughly away. Forcing him to look into her wide green eyes which were brimming over with all the love and regret that she so keenly felt, Scarlett whispered pleadingly, 'Please Rhett, let me stay, just for tonight. I'll let you go in the morning, I swear I will, but I couldn't bear it if you left tonight, not now that I love you so.'

Unable to continue looking into his eyes for fear of the rejection she would surely find there, Scarlett swiftly dropped her head and frantically showered Rhett's jaw and neck with kisses. Her hands meanwhile hungrily roamed over his upper body, a body that she had neglected for years and now had mere moments to memorise. She had never touched him like this before, had never even wanted to, but now it was as if a dam had burst causing waves of need and desire to flood through her washing away all of her previous reservations.

It felt like an age past before Rhett moved, causing Scarlett to freeze as she felt his hand rise from the mattress to lodge itself firmly under her chin, forcing her to lift her head to meet his gaze. Childishly she screwed her eyes shut, believing that if she refused to look at him then he could not reprimand her for her actions. A few seconds past before Rhett finally spoke for the first time since she had entered his room that night, speaking her name in an authorative if slightly weary manner which silently conveyed his wish for her to open her eyes.

Stubbornly she kept them closed, taking comfort in the solid darkness that existed behind her lashes, a darkness which provided the only possible barrier between herself and Rhett's fast-approaching rejection.

'Scarlett' he repeated more firmly as if annoyed by her disobedience, and yet beneath his outwardly chastising tone Scarlett thought she detected a small, almost ghostly note of amusement. It was as if her immaturity had transported them back to the time when her every action had entertained him, the time before his love for her had slowly begun to die out.

The sound filled her with the hope that maybe his feelings hadn't faded away completely after all, that perhaps given time and the right opportunity they could be coaxed slowly back to life. Encouraged by this thought, Scarlett found the strength to finally open her eyes and look at Rhett, her breath catching as she took him in.

His eyes were a deep, foreboding shade of black, his expression guarded, and yet somehow the famous Rhett Butler mask which had fooled her for so long had slipped a little allowing her to read traces of fear and anger overlaid with a resounding look of regret. She remembered how years ago his gaze had made her feel as if he was undressing her with his eyes, now though she knew that it was her inner thoughts that he was striving to uncover with his piercing stare.

Determined that he should be left with no doubt regarding her feelings for him, Scarlett poured her heart into her eyes feeling them grow heavy under the weight of her love and heartache. She felt Rhett stiffen as he took in her emotions, heard him emit a small gasp of surprise at seeing her bare herself so openly in front of him after having kept him out for so long.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, hardly breathing, not even daring to blink in case the movement should sever the new, fragile connection that had been forged between them. Finally, after a long, torturous period of silent communication which told them more than years of talking had ever managed to do, Rhett broke the calm to murmur, 'You'll let me go.'

It was not a question, but Scarlett nodded her head hastily anyway, hear heart beating erratically in her chest as she realised Rhett had accepted her plea. She did not know what had prompted him to do so, perhaps he was touched by her genuine show of affection after having longed for her love for all these years, perhaps he too wasn't quite ready to let her go and only wished to prolong their time together for one more night. Probably though, she thought sadly, he was just too tired to fight her any longer and felt that giving into her demands now was the best way to escape her hold in the long run.

Right now though his reasoning was of little consequence, all that mattered was that he had agreed and in that moment Scarlett couldn't have been happier. Indeed she almost had to bite her tongue to stop herself from smiling and when Rhett's hand tightened under her chin, pulling her back down towards him until their lips met in a chaste and extremely cautious kiss, she almost cried for joy.

Her happiness soon turned to confusion though when Rhett broke the kiss and moved away to lie back down on his pillow. Darting her eyes up to meet his, Scarlett saw not the dismissal that she had feared though, but a look of complete surrender. She gasped softly as she realised that Rhett was handing her absolute control for perhaps the first time in their entire relationship. For this one night he was laying himself at her mercy, allowing her to use him in whatever way she pleased.

Stunned by his actions and unsure of what to do with the power that she had been given, Scarlett froze above him and frantically tried to decide what it was that she most needed from him tonight in order to assuage her pain.

She considered spending the night talking as they had so often done on their honeymoon, curled up together in bed they had whiled away the lonely hours by telling tales of their past, Rhett often making her giddy with laughter as he regaled some particularly scandalous escapade or other. While the idea appealed greatly to her though, she did not know how to begin, after all it had been so long since her and Rhett had spoken to each other in friendship rather than bitterness. Indeed, all of his words in these last few years had been spoken with the aim of hurting her rather than making her smile.

Not that they'd even had anything to smile about recently, Scarlett thought despondently, why even if they did try talking to one another as they used to do there would be nothing pleasant for them to speak about now. No, talking would only lead to them raking up the miseries of the past and that was the last thing that Scarlett wanted to send her last night with Rhett doing.

Rejecting the notion of trying to draw Rhett into conversation on these grounds, Scarlett next considered simply curling up next to him and going to sleep. She remembered how she had always loved the feel of his strong, reassuring presence next to her at night, enjoyed how he would hold her protectively in his arms as if he couldn't bear for even an inch of space to creep up between them. She recalled also how he used to wrap her long hair across his throat while they slept, a gesture so simple that she had always overlooked it, but which now made her heart ache dully in her chest.

Yet she knew that even with Rhett beside her once more after years of night-time separation, she would not now be able to find peace. Her mind was too overwrought for sleep, filled with images of Melanie and Ashley and Rhett and all of the other people that she had lived alongside for years and never really known until it was too late.

No tonight sleep was not an option, her head was pounding under the weight of her regret and what she needed now was something that would take her out of herself and help her to forget everything if only for a short while.

Suddenly a hazy, heated memory of the aftermath of Ashley's birthday party came into her head unbidden and made her cheeks flush red. It had been a turbulent, terrifying, exhilarating night, one unlike any other that she had ever experienced. It had shaken all her well-held beliefs about the meaning of marriage and love and made her realise that up until now she had not known the slightest thing about her husband or her feelings or even her own body.

That night Rhett had swept away all of her fears and concerns until all that remained was sensation, the feel of his rough skin against the smoothness of her own, the sound of his deep, almost inhuman groans offset by her softer moans, the pungent, heady taste of his sweat and saliva as he plundered her mouth while moving over her.

It had been frightening and overwhelming and thoroughly indecent and yet it had made her heart pound like never before and her body writhe under the onslaught of a pleasure so intense it was almost indistinguishable from pain.

Lying above Rhett now, taking in the sight of his weary face carved with deep-set lines put there by years of suffering, and feeling her own exhaustion of body and spirit, Scarlett could scarcely believe that the two of them had once been capable of such passion. It hurt to see how much life had worn them down, how two such intensely alive people who between them had managed to survive wars and starvation and imprisonment and miscarriage had been unable to escape the ravages of time.

She wished with everything she had that she could go back to that night, could reach those dizzying heights once more while knowing now that he loved her and she him. Looking back she couldn't understand how Rhett's actions hadn't alerted her to his feelings for her, surely his love had been clearly on display the entire time? His every touch, whisper and caress practically screamed out his devotion while she had lain ignorantly by, too wrapped up in her own pleasure to open her eyes and see what was staring her right in the face.

She had been a fool that night just as she had been every other night that she had known him, wasting so many opportunities to be happy, truly happy in a way that life with Ashley could never have made her.

Squaring her shoulders, she forced all of her regrets concerning Rhett to the back of her mind, knowing that no amount of 'I'm sorry''s or wishful thinking would change what had been and gone. That time was over, and while she couldn't redo it perhaps she could still re-enact it. For now at least Rhett was still here and he had granted her one last chance, one more night in which she could finally find happiness by losing herself in him.

It was a chance that she never thought she would be given, and despite her deep-seated pride and prudishness it was not one that she intended to pass up.

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_Apologies for the shortness of this chapter, it was initially supposed to be the first part of what will now be chapter 3, but as this story has gone in a direction that I wasn't really planning on I thought I'd better upload it now so I could have a chance to explain. As you may have guessed (and if you haven't you weren't reading this very closely!) the content of the next chapter will mean that I'll have to move this story to the M category. I've never written anything like this before so I'm not too confident how it will work out, but it feels right given where these two are at the moment. I understand it's not everybody's thing so I thought I'd let you know of my intentions now and then if you want to stop reading you're welcome to (although of course I'd rather you didn't!). As always I love hearing your thoughts so please review and I'll hopefully have the last part up by either Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for reading! _


	3. Chapter 3

_It's finally finished! Sorry for all the delays, but it turns out writing steam is incredibly hard- or it is for me anyway, doesn't look like I'll be writing the next Fifty Shades of Grey anytime soon! To be honest a few of you might be a bit disappointed as it's pretty tame, in the end this reverted back into more of a love story than an erotic one, but I'm finally happy with it so hopefully you will be too. As always though let me know what you think irrespective of whether it's good or bad as I love getting all of your reviews. Thanks for all the comments so far and I'll try and get the next chapter of When Love was Young up by the end of next week._

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Bending her head so that Rhett wouldn't see her blush, Scarlett raised nervous hands to his shirt and began to unbutton it. Pulling the fabric out from where it was tucked into his trousers, she made her way slowly through each button until his shirt was undone and slid down the sides of his stomach to rest upon the mattress.

Without thought she reached out and placed her hand on his now exposed stomach noticing with regret how these last few years of drink and decay had softened and enlarged his once firm and taunt physique. Saddened by this thought, she moved her hand quickly upwards and buried it instead amongst the dark mass of his chest hair, enjoying the way that the wiry strands scratched at the soft skin between her fingers.

Scarlett started when she felt the thump of Rhett's heart beneath her hand, the movement jerking her out of her trance-like state and making her painfully aware of what it was that she was currently doing. She had never been this bold with Rhett before, in fact in all of their previous encounters she had hardly even looked at him let alone touched him so brazenly.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortably exposed, Scarlett wished that Rhett would take control as he'd always used to do and made to withdraw her hand. As she did though, she risked a quick glance up at Rhett and was shocked to see him lying back on his pillow, his eyes closed and the corners of his mouth turned up in a small, but satisfied smile.

It was the happiest expression she had seen on his face since before Bonnie died and, while her embarrassment was still strong, she could not bear to end her tentative ministrations when they appeared to be bringing him some much-needed peace. Emboldened by the proof that he was enjoying her attentions and wanting to prolong her overdue exploration of his body, she moved instead to feather her hand along his collar bone, stroking it gently back and forth as she teased his tanned flesh gently with her fingertips.

Rhett let out an almost inaudible sigh, his frame relaxing beneath hers as he let go of all the tension and anxiety of the past years and simply allowed himself to take pleasure in the present. Seeing him do so, Scarlett grew more confident still and trailed her hand up to cup his face beneath her palm.

Rhett flinched at the unexpectedly tender touch and opened his eyes to look directly into hers. Squirming under the sudden scrutiny, Scarlett's earlier apprehension returned to her and she shot back a foot on the bed, pulling her hand sharply away as she did so.

Blushing brightly, she ducked her head in shame and was thinking about escaping the room with what little still remained of her pride when she felt Rhett capture her hand in his larger one. Stroking his thumb reassuringly across the back of her hand, he pulled her so that she resumed her former position and placed her hand gently, but firmly, back on his cheek.

At the look of hesitation she gave him, he whispered rakishly, 'I won't tell anyone if you won't.' His words causing a glimmer of the old, mocking Rhett Butler to fight its way to the surface for the briefest of moments, the ghost of his once permanent twinkle lighting up his eyes for one tantalising moment before they resumed their dull, deadened state.

Her breath catching at the sight of an expression that she never thought she'd see again, Scarlett felt herself smile with true joy at the thought that Rhett and her were actually to share a secret after having kept them from each other for so long.

Answering her smile with one of his own, Rhett relaxed back onto the mattress before closing his eyes and allowing Scarlett to continue on from where she had left off. Squaring her shoulders in determination, Scarlett fought to supress her engrained physical shyness and moved her hand along Rhett's cheek to carefully trace his features with her touch.

Starting at his cheek she moved sideways to run her fingertips up along the bridge of his nose and across his thick eyebrows before dropping back down to circle around his eyelids, stroking the soft brush of his eye lashes as she did so. She noted with pleasure that the deep worry line she had noticed between his brows while he was sleeping had now disappeared making his face look years younger.

Rhett hummed softly under his breath at the feel of her caresses, the vibrations sending shivers up Scarlett's body which lay so close to his, but yet did not quite touch. Wanting to get closer to him, she leaned down and extinguished the space between them, eagerly pressing her body along the lines of his.

'Scarlett', Rhett breathed, the sound of her name of his lips bringing a smile to her face as he lent up and wrapped his arms tightly around her back, pulling her impossibly closer. She took advantage of their newfound proximity to pepper his face and jaw with kisses before, in a sudden rush of boldness, working her way down the thick column of his neck while raking her nails through the soft mat of his chest hair.

She felt Rhett slowly come to life under her sudden onslaught as the mask of consenting passivity that he had worn until now began to fall away. Roughly his hands grasped and slid across her back as if he was trying to feel as much of her at once as he possibly could. Knowing she had only moments left before he took control, Scarlett was overcome with the need to assert her ownership over him in some way before he in turn took full possession of her. Having reached the junction where his neck met his shoulder with her open-mouthed kisses, Scarlett suddenly sunk her teeth into his warm flesh, tasting the tang of his skin as she bit down sharply. She felt Rhett tense beneath her but was not deterred, determined as she was to leave her mark upon his body and claim him, if only temporarily, as her own.

Rhett swore heatedly under his breath as she began sucking on the mark and, fisting his hands into her silk nightdress, he grabbed hold of her and flipped them both over so that he was now on top, the solid weight of his body bearing down firmly upon her own. Burying one hand deep inside the flowing black locks of her hair, Rhett angled her head towards his own and, without further warning, urgently attacked her mouth, plunging his tongue inside and kissing her with a savagery and a completeness which made her forget everything else.

Reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck, Scarlett was determined that the kiss would not be a one-sided affair. Instead it would be the very first that they had shared in which both were as passionate and desperate as the other. This after all was what she had been longing for since the moment he had surrendered himself to her, this feeling of utter submersion, of drowning in a pleasure so intense that it was capable of wiping away all the hurt that she had ever suffered.

Feeling her respond to him like never before, Rhett groaned against her lips and resumed his actions with increased vigour. Finally, panting for air, they broke reluctantly apart, each reading the same look of overriding need and reckless abandon in each other's eyes. For if tonight was indeed to be their last night together then they would give all of themselves and worry about the consequences later.

Scarlett watched as Rhett bent his head and, mimicking her earlier actions, began kissing his way slowly down her neck. Once he reached the base though he did not stop as she had done, nor did he pierce her skin with his teeth, but rather he continued on southwards, making Scarlett shiver with both anticipation and fear as his head descended upon her breast.

Softly he nudged her nipple with his nose before catching it between his teeth and sucking on it gently though her nightdress. The silk grew warm and moist against her heated skin as he worshipped her body with his mouth.

Letting her flesh slip from between his lips, Scarlett whimpered as she felt him move away and position himself so that he was kneeling over her on the bed. 'Hush, love.', he murmured huskily as he took in her forlorn expression before reaching down to catch the hem of her nightdress and sliding it up over her flushed body. Throwing it carelessly onto the floor beside the bed, Rhett lent back down over her, the material of his open shirt tickling her over-sensitive skin. She squirmed pleasurably under this added and unexpected caress as his mouth once again moved to cover her now exposed breasts.

While his tongue ran tantalising circles around her nipples, Rhett moved so that the flat of his hand was pressed against her sternum before running his coarse, calloused palm down the centre of her stomach. Her skin erupted in goose-pimples at his erotic touch, a fire igniting deep in the pit of her belly which she never wanted to put out.

Rhett's hand continued its downward path, skimming lightly through the silken curls of her pubic hair towards the place that she longed for him most. The tip of his index finger nudged against her mound and Scarlett purred deep in her throat, her hips springing up from the mattress as she pushed herself eagerly into his waiting hand.

'Patience, pet', he teased as he pulled his hand away from where she ached for his touch, the twinkle returning once more to his dark eyes and this time showing no signs of leaving. Scarlett whined at the loss of that most scandalous of sensations, making Rhett chuckle as he leaned his weight on one elbow and unbuckled his belt before sliding his trousers and undergarments off in one swift and well-practised move. Scarlett caught sight of his large and straining member for a second before he changed positions to begin removing his shirt.

Suddenly overtaken by a rush of emotion, she reached out and grabbed his forearm forcing him to still his movements. Rhett froze at her action, his playful eyes turning serious and wary in an instant. Knowing that he feared she was rejecting him, Scarlett hurriedly sought to ease his fears without wanting to give away her true intentions for fear of evoking his scorn. Feeling suddenly self-conscious under his piercing stare, she almost wished that she had just let him take off his shirt, but there was just something about the way that the white fabric fell around her, the way it seemed to block out the suffocating darkness of the rest of the room and cocoon her and Rhett, that she was loath to relinquish.

'Please' she stuttered lamely, 'leave the shirt…I like it on you.'

A look of utter incredulity swept across Rhett's face along with a brief look of relief at the fact she did not wish to stop before he frowned slightly as if trying to work out the punch line to whatever elaborate joke she seemed to be playing on him. After a few tense moments in which he scrutinised her expression though he seemed to accept her plea as a genuine one and simply nodded his head in silent assent before dropping his arm back onto the bed.

Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief at the fact he didn't seem to want to question her strange request any further. Instead he leant down and, kissing her gently, aligned himself with her opening as if he sensed that she was too exhausted and fragile to be teased tonight, but rather wished only to be united with him as quickly as she could.

Swiftly he thrust into her, making Scarlett sigh at the exquisite sensation of being filled after being empty for so long. Rhett stilled inside her to give her time to adjust to his intrusion, both of them using the moment of calm to revel in their reinstated connection. Scarlett also took this opportunity to clumsily tuck the sides of Rhett's shirt underneath her back, securing him to her as best she could.

It was silly she knew, but she could not help but feel that by trapping the material between herself and the bed she was in some way tying Rhett to her side and making it impossible for him to leave her.

Surrounded by a solid curtain of white fabric as she now was, Scarlett was reminded of a time long ago when, as a little girl growing up in Tara, she had used to hide under the small table in the entrance hall whenever Mammy was angry with her. The table was draped in a white cloth which extended down to the floor making it the perfect place to burrow under and wait until Mammy's formidable temper had cooled off a little.

So ingenious a hiding place had it been in fact that Mammy had never once thought to look there for her as she marched through the rooms of the house, either shouting Scarlett's name so loudly that people in Jonesboro' must surely have heard it, or cooing to her softly with false promises of cake and forgiveness if she'd just come out from where she was hiding.

Scarlett had spent many hours concealed under that table, often going out of her mind with boredom, but knowing that any amount of tedium was better than facing Mammy's wrath. Over time the place had taken on a special significance for her though, it was her secret spot, a space that no one else had ever taken the time to discover, proof that she knew her beloved Tara better than anyone else ever had or ever would.

Eventually, she had become even craftier, stealing food from the kitchen and storing it away under the table in preparation for the next time she would need to find refuge under it. She had enjoyed many a secret picnic there over the years, laughing to herself as she munched happily away while everyone scanned the house and grounds searching for her.

She had never felt as safe as she did under that protective canopy of white fabric, and had cried bitter tears of heartbreak when she finally grew too big to fit under there unnoticed.

It was this same sense of security which she felt now as she lay underneath Rhett, wrapped up in each other and cocooned by a blanket of white she felt as if they too were hidden away from the rest of the world. Here they could finally be together without fear, in a place where the presence of Ashley and Belle and the ghost of a beautiful, blue-eyed girl could not touch them, in a place where they could finally be free.

Free to love as they were meant to do, made to do even, before wars both national and emotional had risen up between them and created barriers that could not be overcome no matter how hard they might try.

Feeling a rush of sadness rush through her, Scarlett raised her head and desperately planted kisses along Rhett's jaw and mouth, instantly finding solace upon touching his skin with hers. Rhett however took her ministrations as a sign that she was ready for him to continue and, drawing her in for a swift, scorching kiss, he began to move.

His movements were powerful and deep as he withdrew almost completely before thrusting forwards so that he was sheathed entirely within her. With each stroke Rhett's forehead came to rest against her own, his jet black eyes boring into her emerald ones making Scarlett feel almost as if it was their souls, and not just their bodies, that were being fused together by their coupling. The heat of his stare was overwhelming and together with the friction of their bodies it proved too much for Scarlett to bear silently, causing a guttural moan to leave her lips as he moved above her.

Upon hearing the sound, Rhett increased the power and speed of his movements, causing him to hit the secret place within Scarlett head on and forcing another moan from between her lips. Lifting her arms from his back she snaked them through his hair, pulling none-too gently at the strands as she attempted to draw him closer despite the fact that not an inch of space existed between their aching, sweat-covered bodies.

This sense of needing him closer gradually began to consume Scarlett's hazy mind as the delicious, burning coil in the pit of her stomach began to stretch itself ever closer to breaking point. Her body screamed at her to surrender herself to the blissful sensations that Rhett was so expertly evoking, yet her mind recoiled from the idea in a state akin to blind panic. Her desire to reach the peaks of ecstasy being countered by the overriding fear that once she found her completion so too would her marriage come to a swift and decisive end.

She writhed under Rhett, this time not in pleasure but in worry, his presence above and around her beginning to make her feel more suffocated than safe as her head warred desperately against her heart in a battle that felt as if it would tear her apart.

Panting now in fear rather than desire, Scarlett frantically cried out Rhett's name in the hope that he would save her now as he had done so very many times in the past. Reading the tortured expression in her eyes, a look of recognition appeared on Rhett's face and he murmured reassuringly, 'Don't fight it, hush now, I know it's hard, I know.'

Gazing up at him, Scarlett felt her panic subside slightly at the realisation that Rhett did indeed know what she was going through, that he must have fought this same internal battle every time he'd lain with her in the past and known that once their coupling was over she would return to her aloof, unloving self.

Reaching behind him to untangle her hands, which had tightened into claws around his head in her distress, Rhett placed them instead down on the pillow either side of Scarlett's face and entwined his fingers with hers.

'You can let go now honey, I've got you.' He breathed, his lips pressed up against her ear so that the warm caress of his breath brought her impossibly closer to the edge of the precipice.

One more thrust was all that it took, his arm muscles rippling either side of her head as he drove himself faster and harder into her core.

Throwing back her head in a mixture of ecstasy and defeat, Scarlett was unable to withstand Rhett's sweet torture or the scorching flame embedded deep in his dark eyes any longer. Instead she finally let herself go, crying out her release and forgetting for those few, blissful moments that in doing so she was in fact releasing him too.

Above her Rhett thrust twice more, drawing out her pleasure, before withdrawing and spilling his seed onto the sheets with a deep groan and a whisper of her name.

Pulled from her state of euphoria by the stinging pain of her sudden emptiness and the knowledge that tonight's events would not lead to her growing round with his child, Scarlett whimpered helplessly as her vision blurred under a wave of hot tears.

Almost instantly she felt Rhett's arms wrap around her body, almost as if he was fighting to hold her together now that she felt like she was falling apart. Softly he rolled them over so that he lay on his back while she lay on her side next to him, her head carefully pillowed against his chest. Though he no doubt meant the gesture to be a comforting one, the fact that their position so closely resembled the one Scarlett had first taken up upon entering his bed that night only served to bring on a fresh bout of tears. It seemed to her to suggest that while they had shared such a beautiful, intimate moment together nothing between them had actually changed, that despite all of her best intentions he still planned on leaving her at the first light of dawn.

Upon hearing her increased sobs, Rhett began to stroke her back soothingly while planting kisses amongst her disordered curls. 'Shh,' he said in a gentle tone, 'I know it's difficult, but you promised that you'd let me go.'

Scarlett shuddered as a violent sob wracked through her body as his words confirmed her worst suspicions. So he was leaving her then. After everything they'd been through tonight he still intended to pick up his bags and walk out of her life as if nothing had happened. Of course though, she thought bitterly, her sadness turning swiftly to anger as it often did where Rhett was concerned, to him tonight had been nothing special, why he probably engaged in such acts with women every night of the week! She had been a fool to think that it would change his mind and an even bigger one to think that opening herself up to him in that way would ease her pain rather than increase it tenfold.

Yet, hurt though she was, she could not quite bring herself to regret her decision to lie with Rhett, after all he had been leaving anyway and she was glad that now at least she would be left with one shining, perfect memory to sustain her over the coming months and years.

Still though she could not seem to stop the flow of her tears which ran down her cheeks in a steady stream and began to form a pool on Rhett's chest. Upon feeling them drip onto his bare skin, Rhett pulled Scarlett tighter into his embrace and ran his hand through her long hair.

'Scarlett please stop,' he said, a hint of worry clear in his tone despite it being overlaid with amusement, 'for once I do not have a handkerchief about my person and unless you want to ruin this shirt that you seem so oddly fond of then I'm afraid you are going to have to cease crying.'

Scarlett giggled despite her anguish, the sound coming out more like a gurgle as she fought against the rising lump in her throat. Even in her pain she could not help but take comfort in his teasing tone, a tone that she had not heard for so long and had sorely missed. Perhaps things weren't completely lost after all, indeed this was hardly the first time that Rhett would leave her for an extended period of time, back during the war he had always been gallivanting off somewhere or other for months on end and in more recent years he'd been forever running away on trips with or without his precious Bonnie in a bid to escape their marital strife.

Maybe this was just another of those times, a much-needed break away from their current situation in order to give him time to heal and the strength to begin again. For if it was true that Rhett Butler was forever running out on her, then it was also true that it was always her that he came back to. He'd never been able to stay away permanently, had always been pulled irrevocably back to her side, for she was the only woman he had ever loved and the only home that he had ever truly known.

Encouraged by this thought, Scarlett finally felt her tears begin to dry up as she pushed all her fears to one side and snuggled deeper into Rhett's intended embrace, moving her head up so that her face was burrowed into his neck.

'What time are you leaving in the morning?' she asked quietly.

'Before nine.' He replied stiffly. Yet, Scarlett couldn't help but notice that while he pushed her away with his words, his arms unconsciously tightened around her waist. Her lips twitched into a smile as she wondered if maybe she wasn't the only one who was battling between their head and their heart tonight.

Wiping the remnants of her tears away with the back of her hand, Scarlett felt the emotional and physical strain of the last few hours gradually begin to overtake her body and she yawned widely as her eyes began to shut of their own accord. With a sigh she surrendered for the second time that night, acknowledging as she did so that she had fought as best she could and that if Rhett was to stay then it would be as a result of his own internal battles now.

Closing her eyes and giving herself over to the blackness, she clutched Rhett tightly against her and prayed that when tomorrow finally arrived he would still be by her side.


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok so the break from fanfiction lasted all of two weeks, it seems I'm more addicted to this site than even I thought! While I did originally plan to finish this story on the cliffhanger of the last chapter, after receiving a lot of requests to continue it I re-read it and decided that I probably was a little mean to leave you all hanging like that! If you preferred the more ambiguous ending though feel free to ignore the upcoming chapters, but if you want a HEA then by all means keep reading as I promise it will eventually turn into one. At the moment I think I have two more chapters to go after this one but, seeing as my stories usually run for longer than I initially intend for them to, it might well go beyond that. Thanks for reading and, as always, please review._

* * *

Something was wrong.

Seriously wrong.

A rush of dread passed through her, settling overhead like a dark, foreboding storm cloud.

Overcome by panic, she pulled back the heavy duvet and leapt out of a bed which suddenly felt far-too empty for comfort.

Scanning the room quickly she saw to her rising dismay that all of Rhett's belongings were missing and, were it not for the existence of the two hollow depressions on the mattress, she would almost have believed that the events of the previous night had been nothing but an intoxicating, heady dream conjured up in order to make the midnight hours seem just that little less lonely.

Feeling bile rise in her throat she realised that Rhett must have left while she was still asleep, no doubt creeping from the room like the low-down coward that he was in order to avoid having to look her in the eye and tell her he was going.

Going despite all that she had told him last night, despite all that she had let him see and do under the comforting cover of darkness.

Now though the morning sun blazed into the room and exposed all of her pain and humiliation for the entire world to see, leaving her vulnerable and alone without a place to hide.

_Follow him._

The single, terrifying thought flashed across her mind and took hold somewhere deep in her subconscious. Without pausing to consider it further she took off, running from the room and down the wide staircase, her fear of falling overridden for the first time by the more pressing worry that she would be too late to catch him if she didn't hurry.

Flinging the front door open she emerged into the bustling street, barging past her neighbours who were out enjoying their routine morning strolls as she hurried in the direction of the train station, desperate to find Rhett before he departed.

Arriving at the terminal she found the platform packed, hundreds upon hundreds of bodies pouring into the confined space and making her task of locating him an even more daunting one. Pushing down her head she unceremoniously elbowed her way through the crowd, too caught up in seeking out Rhett to notice the strange looks she was receiving from those around her.

Suddenly she caught sight of someone familiar out of the corner of her left eye and, turning, she felt a smile break out across her cheeks as she recognised her errant husband, noting with a pang that he looked as swarve and handsome as ever in his dark suit and wide panama hat.

'Rhett! Wait, Rhett!' she screamed, ignoring the unwanted attention that her call attracted from the other passengers as she fought to get closer to him.

He looked up at her cry, and for one shining moment their eyes met and held and it was as if everyone else melted away until they were the only two people in existence. In that moment the cloud of dread that had gripped her all morning drifted away allowing sunshine and hope to pour through once more.

She opened her mouth to shout out her love for him when to her horror she saw a woman approach Rhett and take hold of his arm in an all-too-familiar manner. A woman with a painted face and bright red hair. A woman she had despised for years for her ability to understand Rhett in a way it seemed she herself never could.

Rhett dropped his eyes from hers at the touch of Belle's hand and leant down towards her as she whispered something in his ear. Her heart breaking at being forced to witness such an intimate moment between her husband and his whore, she almost didn't notice when Belle took Rhett's hand in her own and began to lead him away towards the open door of the train.

Nausea rising in her stomach, she tried desperately to call out for him, only to find herself utterly incapable of speech. Her throat seemed to constrict every time she attempted to shout, almost as if a large rock had become trapped in her wind pipe and was slowly suffocating her.

Instead she tried to push through the crowd to reach him before he and Belle had a chance to embark, but while she had been able to move past people easily until this moment, now they seemed to present an impenetrable wall of bodies, converging into a solid mass around her and trapping her in place.

Looking at them now she saw that they were not strangers as she had first thought but the very people she had lived amongst for the last decade. Why yes there in front of her was Mrs. Elsing and Mrs. Meade while to her left stood Rene Picard and Maybelle Merriwether and to her right Aunt Pittypat and Uncle Henry. They all smirked maliciously at her as they hemmed her in, preventing her from reaching Rhett and seemingly taking pleasure in doing so.

From behind her she heard a cruel chuckle and, spinning round, her eyes widened in disbelief as she spotted Ashely amongst the crowd, laughing openly at her plight. Before she could question him however his laughter began to be taken up by her other captors, spreading gradually round the suffocating circle until eventually everyone she had ever known was sniggering at her predicament.

The repellent sound grew steadily in volume with each passing second until it seemed to emanate from inside her very head and even her attempt to block it out by covering her ears with her hands did nothing to lessen the dreadful noise of her public shaming.

Tears began to pour from her eyes as she pleaded with them to stop, her single, distressed voice easily lost amongst the tumult of her tormentors' cackling until that too was drowned out by an even more hideous sound; the whistle of a steam train ready to depart.

Craning her neck to peer over the heads of her captors, she watched with dismayed eyes as the train began to pull out of the station, her heart breaking as she caught sight of Rhett leaning casually out of an open window, Belle draped possessively across his back as he waved his goodbyes to the watching crowd.

His eyes widening as he spotted her amongst the fray, Rhett smiled and cupped his hand to his mouth as if to call out to her. Straining her ears she fought to hear his words, perhaps the last he would ever speak to her, in the hope that they would offer some slim comfort during his absence, but the jeering of the crowd around her robbed her of even this.

As the train slowly disappeared round a bend and out of view, she felt as if it was taking every last piece of strength that she possessed with it and as the last of the smoke faded into the morning air she collapsed weakly to her knees, feeling the darkness rush up to meet her as her head smacked against the cold concrete of the platform.

* * *

At the force of the imaginary impact, Scarlett's eyes flew open and she sprang up in bed, her heart beating erratically as pain shot through her chest and tightened her lungs until she felt as if she would surely suffocate.

Placing a steading hand to her chest, she fought to regain her breath, sucking in the cool night air slowly as she closed her eyes and repeated the words Rhett had made her memorise years ago in order to help her overcome her nightmares.

_It was a dream. Just a dream. It can't hurt you. It can't ever hurt you._

After five repetitions, the words began to have their desired effect, calming her fears and allowing her to break free of her nightmare and return to reality. Her heart beat slowing, Scarlett opened her eyes and took in the dull, greyish light of pre-dawn, her hands reaching down to grip the sheets around her as she sought to anchor herself more firmly to the present.

As the remnants of her nightmare began to come back to her she gasped softly and spun round in the bed to face the place where Rhett should be, a relieved sigh breaking through her lips as she saw that he was indeed still sleeping beside her.

She was somewhat surprised that her bad dream had not woken him, after all in the past he had always been the one to pull her forcibly from her nightmares by wrapping her up in his strong arms and calling her name gently but insistently until she returned to him.

Her chest ached dully as she wondered if perhaps maybe he did not care enough to comfort her now as he used to do. Or, worse still, if perhaps he was no longer so incredibly in tune with her that the smallest sign of her nocturnal distress was enough to rouse him from his slumber like it had been in the past.

Perhaps though he was merely too exhausted to be woken by her troubled murmurs. His face certainly looked tired, his brow ceased with lines while his eyes were little more than two sunken craters carved into his tanned cheeks.

Overcome by a wave of affection tinged as always with overriding sense of regret, Scarlett momentarily forgot about her dream, taking comfort only in the fact that Rhett hadn't run away from her in the night and that she could at least find peace in his presence for a little while longer.

Laying herself carefully back down so as not to disturb him, she turned onto her side to face him and simply stared at Rhett for the longest moment, attempting to store away as much of him as she possibly could in preparation for the time when memories would be all that she had left of him.

Watching him like this brought a measure of blissful calm to her troubled mind, and for a short, precious while she forgot about the fact he would be leaving soon, forgot about Melanie and Ashley and Bonnie and all the people she had lost in one way or another over the years, forgot even about the existence of time itself. Instead she lost herself eagerly in her husband, feeling all of her pain and sorrow slip silently away as she did so.

It was not the sort of erotic, heated gaze that she had given him the previous night, yet neither did it contain any trace of the hostility or reproach that had dominated her glances over the last few years. Instead it was a look tinged only with affection and perhaps a little nostalgia as she focussed on the better times that they had shared earlier on in their relationship, times which she now desperately wished they could return to.

She didn't know how long she laid there staring at him, time both seeming to stand still and fly past as she watched him. So caught up in the moment was Scarlett that she did not notice as the darkness began to give way to the dawn and the room slowly filled with light. Nor did she hear the chirping of the birds outside the window as they welcomed in the new day with their song.

But just as the chiming of the clock had broken her trance last night, so it did again now this morning. Each striking of the bells felt like a hammer against her heart, every one signalling another hour lost to sleep, every one bringing Rhett's impending departure that much closer.

Finally at the eighth chime the clock settled back down into silence and Scarlett fought to recompose herself, after all eight o'clock was still early, why she didn't normally rise until at least ten!

But before she could relax at the thought of having two more hours with Rhett, the sound of her own voice flashed across her mind and bought her back down to earth with a bang.

'_What time are you leaving in the morning?' _

'_Before nine.' _

The ghost of their earlier conversation entered her head unbidden and made her shiver despite herself.

Of course, she could continue to let him sleep, could close up her eyes and snuggle down next to him and forget all about his earlier words. After all there was no way for him to know that she had woken before him, in fact as long as she kept quiet she would almost certainly be able to keep him next to her for a few more precious hours.

Yet, as much as she longed to do just that she knew deep down that she could not. There had already been enough manipulation and deceit between them these last few years and she did not want to add to it now by ensuring he missed his train. Besides, if he wanted to leave her then he would, an extra hour or two would not alter that fact. And, if she had to live without him, it was best that she made the decision of when to let him go herself rather than having to watch him walk away from her of his own accord.

So instead she took one last steadying breath, drinking in the familiar, musky scent of him before she leaned over and softly kissed his cheek while gently tapping his chest and calling out his name.

Instantly Rhett responded to both her touch and voice, groaning lightly as he stretched out on the mattress. His eyes however remained firmly shut and he surprised Scarlett a few moments later by rolling over suddenly onto his stomach, taking her with him as he went so that she ended up trapped between the bed and his heavy frame.

The wind momentarily knocked out of her, she could do nothing but gasp as Rhett angled his head into her neck and began to nuzzle her tender skin with the coarse stubble of his chin. Squirming slightly against the tingly feeling, Scarlett fought back the urge to laugh at the absurdity of finding herself sharing such an intimate moment with her husband on the very day that he was set to leave her. A notion made all the more amusing by the fact that during their actual marriage they had barely deigned to touch each other at all.

Feeling her move under him, Rhett woke up fully and raised his head from her neck to stare her directly in the face. Scarlett couldn't help but smile as she took in his bewildered expression, his dark eyes clouded over with the confusion of suddenly finding her lying beneath him when they hadn't shared a bed for years.

She watched as realisation slowly seeped into his tired face, his eyes darkening with comprehension as he began to recall the events of the night before. Clearly shaken by her unexpected presence, he ran a nervous hand through his unruly hair in a bid to distract attention away from the fact she had caught him in such an unguarded moment.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, neither sure how to break the quiet and Scarlett unsure as to whether she even wanted to. She knew that once she did Rhett would move away from her, would dismiss his show of affection as the actions of an unthinking, sleeping man. And even if that was true, Scarlett found that she would be happier believing the lies for a little while longer.

Eventually though the silence became increasingly awkward and Rhett's weight on top of her much too oppressive, causing Scarlett to wriggle underneath him in the hope of finding a more comfortable position.

Her movements caused Rhett to chuckle, the tense mood between them lifting instantly at the sound. Gallantly he lifted his weight up onto his elbows as he stared teasingly into her eyes and muttered, 'Am I too heavy for you my dear?'

Encouraged by his amused tone, Scarlett smiled tentatively back up at him and shook her head.

'Are you quite sure about that?' he asked before collapsing back down directly on top of her, the full weight of his body pinning her to the bed and making her groan loudly in complaint.

'Alright, alright!' she cried weakly, 'I give in, I give in!'

His black eyes dancing with boyish mischief, Rhett raised himself off her and looked round the room, his eyes losing their playful light as they took in the cases and boxes that adorned the carpet around the bed.

Sighing he moved away from Scarlett and sat up so that his back was leaning against the headboard. 'What time is it?', he asked lowly.

Scarlett felt her throat constrict at his question, the sensation reminding her unpleasantly of how she had been unable to call out to Rhett during her earlier nightmare. Forcing herself to swallow thickly she mirrored his position by sitting up beside him on the bed so that he wouldn't be able to read the pain in her eyes and said calmly, 'It's just gone eight.'

'Ah.'

_Ah indeed, _thought Scarlett wryly.

As silence settled once more across the room, this one far more uncomfortable than the last, Scarlett realised that lying next to Rhett when he was awake did not provide her with the same level of calming reassurance that it had while he had been sleeping. Instead of taking comfort in his proximity it now only served to make her anxious, bringing to the surface all the uncertainties that lay between them and all the questions she knew she needed to ask but yet could not find the courage to utter.

Her stomach slowly winding itself into knots, Scarlett knew that if she were to stay this close to him for much longer then she would surely break down, crying pitifully and begging him to stay in a way which would surely rob her of any remaining dignity that she had left. Unwilling to let herself look so weak in front of Rhett, she instead decided that it would be best if she made a swift exit from the room before her emotions had a chance to overtake her completely.

Steeling herself, she fought against the part of her that wanted to remain by Rhett's side and instead reached down deliberately to pick her discarded wrapper off of the floor. Slipping it quickly on round her bare shoulders she rose swiftly from the bed before she lost her nerve and cuddled up even closer to her all-too-tempting husband.

'What are you doing?' Rhett asked, looking suddenly unhappy as he watched her make her way towards the door.

'I'm hungry,' she answered lamely, 'I'll go downstairs and oversee breakfast. That way you can dress while I'm gone and then I'll call you when it's ready.'

She wasn't sure if Rhett believed her feeble excuse, indeed his frown only seemed to grow more pronounced with every word that she uttered and as she made her way out into the hallway she could have sworn she heard him mutter under his breath, 'It's a little too late for the doting wife routine now, don't you think?'

Scarlett flinched slightly as she shut the door after herself, the truth of Rhett's words piercing her deeply. There was so much she wished she could change, so much she would be willing to sacrifice if it meant she got the chance to go back and do it all differently. The chance to be the kind of wife to Rhett that she now knew herself to be capable of. The kind of wife she still could be if only he would let her.

Rhett was right though, it was too late to start playing the part of the doting spouse now, much too late in fact given everything that they had put each other through in the last few years.

_But, _she thought hopefully, a small smile breaking out across her lips as she felt her fighting spirit rise up inside her once more, _it was better late than never._


	5. Chapter 5

_A huge thank you to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter, I was oddly nervous about posting it so I'm very relieved you liked it. To the guests who preferred the cliffhanger ending of chapter 3, I completely understand where you're coming from but I have a load of ideas for this story which I'm excited to share with you and hopefully if you stick with it I'll manage to win you over in the end! This is more of an introspective chapter for Scarlett, but the next one should more than make up for it- plus it means I get to tease you all for a little bit longer! Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think of the chapter and the way the story's going as a whole. I'm going to try and do weekly posts, knowing me it might not work out that way, but hopefully I'll see you all again this time next Wednesday!_

* * *

As Scarlett walked towards her room to dress, calling sharply for Prissy to come lace her as she went, she couldn't quite manage to shake off Rhett's parting words.

She didn't know why they had affected her so deeply, after all not only was his comment perfectly reasonable given the circumstances, but it was also far less scathing than any of the others he had doled out to her over the last few years of their marriage. In fact by their own bitter standards it had been remarkably tame and yet nevertheless the words stung more sharply than any of his harsher insults ever had.

Entering her room and walking across to her closet to pick out her dress for the day, Scarlett supposed it was because this was the first time he had criticised her since she discovered she was in love with him. Before she had always been able to ignore his jibes, to dismiss them as nothing but meaningless words spoken by a man whose good opinion meant nothing to her. Now it was different, now she wanted, no _needed_ him to think well of her and the idea that he didn't pained her cruelly.

Before she had time to dwell on the subject though, her musings were interrupted by the arrival of her most stubborn-headed of servants, Prissy announcing her presence in the room by dragging her feet noisily along the plush carpet and sighing exaggeratedly as if reproaching Scarlett for having the gall to order her to perform the very job that she was employed to do.

Emerging back into the room with her chosen dress- a particularly fine emerald silk creation which would ensure that if Rhett was indeed to depart this morning then at least he wouldn't forget the way she'd looked in a hurry- Scarlett forced herself not to lose her temper as she spotted Prissy over by the vanity playing idly with her pot of rogue.

'Leave that thing alone and come lace me.' She said as coolly as she could manage, 'You shouldn't be touching it anyway.'

'Ah's sorry Miss Scarlett,' Prissy huffed, her face set in an altogether unapologetic expression as she reluctantly placed the pot back down on the dressing table and trudged slowly over to pick up Scarlett's corset from the bed.

'Hmph, well just make sure I don't catch you playing with it again,' warned Scarlett darkly, finding a grim satisfaction in being able to unload her own anxiety by yelling at Prissy, 'it costs more than your month's wages so don't even think about stealing some or I'll sell you south before you've even had a chance to put it on your cheeks, you just see if I don't.'

Prissy didn't respond to her threats with words, but Scarlett couldn't help but think she was a lot more vigorous with her lacing than usual this morning, pulling on the strings so harshly that Scarlett would surely have cried out in protest on several occasions if only her pride would have allowed it.

Holding her sore sides as she adjusted to the constrictions of the corset by taking shallower breaths, Scarlett's eyes darkened as she caught sight of Prissy trying to slyly leave the room before she could be given any more chores.

'See to it that breakfast is ready by the time I come down.' Scarlett ordered sharply at the retreating figure, her tone leaving the girl in no doubt that she meant for her words to be obeyed, 'And I want the table set for two today as Rhett will be joining me.'

'Yas'm' Prissy replied in an unusually sweet voice as she turned round to face her mistress.

Her suspicions raised, Scarlett fixed Prissy with a piercing stare noting with caution the sly smirk that graced her lips, 'What are you grinning about?' she asked sharply, her nerves too on edge this day to put up with any of Prissy's usual nonsense.

'Nuthin' Miss Scarlett, only Ah wuz wunderin' huccome de bed doan need makin' up dis mawnin' dat's all.' She answered smoothly, her bright eyes dancing wickedly in their sockets as she did so.

'Why you little…you get out of my sight this very instance do you hear me! And you better see to it that breakfast is ready the second I get downstairs or it'll be the last meal you ever serve in this house!', cried Scarlett, her heated words wiping the smile off of Prissy's face and sending her scampering hurriedly out of the room.

_Why the gall of the girl was beyond belief!_, Scarlett fumed angrily, her cheeks burning bright with humiliation at Prissy's scandalous insinuations. She had always been an imprudent little madam, but to openly taunt her own mistress like that, it was positively unheard of!

How she wished that Mammy was still here, wise old Mammy who would never have let Prissy get away with such appalling conduct, who would have known exactly how to comfort Scarlett and just what to say in order to help her stop Rhett from walking out.

Scarlett had missed her sorely since she had returned to Tara, her world seeming that much darker without the constant presence of her most beloved of servants. It was as if Mammy had taken the last bit of light and hope that existed in this god-forsaken excuse for a family home with her when she left, extinguishing the last possibility of her and Rhett finding happiness within its walls upon her departure.

Her sudden longing for Mammy reminded Scarlett of the promise she had made to herself yesterday after Rhett had gone upstairs to pack the remainder of his belongings. Standing at the bottom of the staircase she had vowed to return to Tara the moment that he left, confident that situated amongst its miles of rolling red hills she would be able to recover from the unbearable strains that marriage and motherhood had placed upon her and rise up stronger and surer than ever.

In the events that had followed she had forgotten this earlier decision and the remembrance of it now allowed a measure of calm to settle over her anxious mind, reassuring her that even if she was to lose her husband today then at least she would finally be able to regain her home.

The thought of seeing Tara again soon, of living once more inside its enchanted white walls brought a smile to her lips and, fixing her hair up into a simple but becoming arrangement, she straightened her spine and readied herself to face whatever trials the coming hours had in store for her.

Her mind focussed on the task ahead, she almost forgot to knock on Rhett's door to let him know that breakfast would be waiting for him whenever he was ready to come down, only remembering when she was already approaching the top of the stairs.

Doubling back on herself she approached his door slowly, something about the sight of it stood strong and unyielding in front of her reminding her sharply of her husband's similarly blunt and impenetrable demeanour. Rapping her knuckles against the wood she couldn't help but slightly resent the barrier that it presented between her and Rhett, a barrier which she had painstakingly managed to tear down last night only to resurrect this morning by hastily leaving his bed without properly thinking through the consequences of such an action.

She worried her flight had severed the tentative connection her and Rhett had built up in the last few hours, had rendered them further apart than ever before and she contemplated what would happen if, instead of going downstairs, she were to turn the handle and simply walk back inside the room.

Rhett probably hadn't finished dressing yet, no doubt his shirt would still be unbuttoned and his throat uncovered by a cravat. The thought of seeing him partially exposed like this in the broad light of day after years of concealment caused a cool shiver to course through Scarlett's heated body as a rush of images invaded her mind, taking over her senses and making her eyes drift shut.

Pressing her forehead against the door as if to steady herself, she eagerly imagined the look of shock that would cloud Rhett's features when she re-entered the room. His brows would rise questioningly as he took her in, his lips just beginning to form a query before she would silence him with a firm shake of her head, her body language effortlessly letting him know that now was not the time for talking.

His eyes would darken with gradual understanding as she walked across the room towards where he stood, her steps slow and sure and filled with a confidence that she only wished she truly possessed when in his company. Reaching him she would lean up on her toes and nestle her head in the comforting crook of his neck, her lips seeking solace on his skin as her fingers eagerly entangled themselves in the soft down of his chest hair.

Her breathing quickened as she envisioned how he would sigh deeply at the contact and move further into her touch, pulling her closer with his large hands as he angled his head towards hers and stole her breath with a kiss.

She had always adored his kisses, like the man himself they were defiant, overpowering and all-consuming. They clouded her mind and captured her heart and had always been the one thing about him that she had never been able to resist.

Leaning more heavily against the door she felt her mouth tingle at the phantom sensation of his lips pressing insistently against hers, his tongue demanding an entrance that for once she would be only too willing to grant. Unconsciously her lips parted as her thighs clenched, a warm, dizzying heat sweeping through her lower body and making her knees tremble as she arched into the wood to prevent herself from crumpling to the floor in a boneless mess.

The motion brought her hand into contact with the door handle and unthinkingly she squeezed the cold metal beneath her palm with the intention of entering the room and having her fantasies brought sharply to life.

As she began to twist the handle through she heard Rhett emit a barking cough from inside and the loud noise brought her sharply out of her daze-like state, a blush rising in her cheeks as she realised the foolishness of her actions.

Even if she did enter the room she would never truly have the nerve to walk up and touch her husband like that, for Ellen and Mammy's teaching were deeply engrained inside of her and reminded her sharply that such brazen antics were for low-down common women such as that dreadful Watling creature not high-born ladies like herself.

She could just imagine how Rhett would react if she dared to do so, far from pulling her closer and rewarding her candour with a kiss he would no doubt recoil from her wantonness in horror before laughing at her soundly. Any remaining respect he held for her would be utterly destroyed and that was something she could never allow to happen.

Pulling hurriedly away, Scarlett swept away from the door and down the wide staircase without a backwards glance, only to have her annoyance flare when she entered the dining room to find that breakfast had yet to be laid out.

Cursing Prissy's laxness, Scarlett comforted herself with the notion that at least the table had been set in preparation for their meal, her and Rhett's plates positioned at polar opposites of the vast wooden creation as was traditional.

Since she had asked him for separate bedrooms all those years ago, her and Rhett had taken to eating like this at all times, sitting as far apart from each other as was humanly possible and acting as if they were merely a pair of co-habiting strangers rather than man and wife.

Usually at least the presence of the children helped to fill the void that lay between them, Wade and Ella's inane chatter managing to cover over the resounding silences that routinely fell between their embittered parents. But today they were eating earlier than normal and as such the children, who wouldn't be out of bed until at least nine, would be unable to join them. For perhaps the first time ever Scarlett found herself regretting their absence, worried by the prospect of having to face Rhett alone when there was so much she didn't want to have to listen to him say.

_That's if I will actually be able to hear him though, _thought Scarlett wryly, reasoning that with fifteen foot of stolid oak dividing them there was a strong possibility she would miss half of what he was trying to tell her anyway.

Driven by a sudden impulse she rushed forward and picked up her plate and cutlery, cramming it hastily into her small hands as she rounded the length of the table and set them down again in front of the seat directly next to Rhett's. If this was to be the last meal they shared together then she was determined that they would at least enjoy it side by side for once.

Sitting herself down, her hands reached automatically for her dress, anxiously smoothing out non-existent creases in the silk in a bid to take her mind off of her nerves.

She couldn't help but lament the fact that this had all seemed so much easier last night, back then she had already accepted defeat and only wished to end her and Rhett's time together on a positive note, drawing as much comfort from him as she could before he took his leave of her.

But in allowing her desire and love for him to overcome her reservations, Scarlett had unknowingly prised open the bars of feelings both her and Rhett had previously fought to suppress, letting out a myriad of emotions which would have been safer kept firmly in their cages.

Their coupling had affected them both deeply, for not only had it sparked a burning passion within Scarlett, but it had also brought Rhett back from the dead, transforming him from the hollow, broken shell that he had seemed to be upon her return from Melly's house into a living, breathing man once again.

Most dangerously of all though for Scarlett it had reignited her hope. Up until then it had been non-existent allowing Scarlett to act as she pleased safe in the knowledge that Rhett was going anyway and there was nothing left to lose.

But now it was different.

Now he had kissed her and held her and comforted her. Now he had looked at her once again with those teasing, dancing eyes of old and laughed in the rich, reckless way that she hadn't heard in far, far too long.

Now she had been allowed a tantalising glimpse of what their future life together could be like if only he was willing to give their marriage one last chance.

Now…now she loved him like never before.

Her vision blurring slightly, Scarlett raised her hands to her eyes only to be shocked by the discovery that they were wet beneath her touch.

Capturing a tear upon her fingertip, she pulled back and studied the small droplet as if it were poisonous, her nose wrinkling up with distaste as she took in the sight before her.

She had cried more in this last day than she had in the entire decade preceding it. Not even during the war had she ever felt so utterly exhausted, so completely and comprehensively defeated and in that moment she hated herself for allowing such weakness to take hold.

All her life she had been a fighter, soldiering bravely on during times of adversity and triumphing against all odds while everyone else around her faltered and failed. If it wasn't for her efforts then Melanie and Beau would surely have died on the road back to Tara while her entire family would have no doubt either starved during the war or become destitute after failing to pay the increased taxes on their plantation home.

And yet after a lifetime of sacrificing her happiness and reputation in order to survive, here she now was content to sit passively by and wait for Rhett to tell her if he was indeed leaving her or not, meekly surrendering to his will rather than battling to secure their future lives together.

If she had acted this timidly last night then they would never have come together as they had, would have ended their relationship on a whimper unworthy of the fire that had burned so brightly between them for the last twelve years.

After having fought to get her own way her entire life why on earth was she now allowing the fate of her entire marriage to be decided solely by Rhett? After all it wasn't as if he'd done a good job of controlling things up until now, hiding his feelings and running away every time she got too close, why it was his fault that things between them had deteriorated so badly in the first place.

Squaring her shoulders as she heard the familiar sound of Rhett's stealthy tread upon the stairs, Scarlett decided that it was time to stop running and to stand and fight once more. She didn't yet know the direction her marriage was going to take, wasn't sure whether today would signal the end of the road or the start of a new chapter for her and Rhett, but of one thing she was entirely certain, whichever way their relationship went it would be her and not her husband who decided upon it.


End file.
